Master Assassin vs The Mysterious Outsider
by iznotpossible1
Summary: As Ezio investigates a mysterious symbol at a Roman ruin, he gets caught up in an event that culminates in a duel between the Master Assassin himself and a person only known as "The Bearer of the Mark", Corvo Attano.
1. Chapter 1

**Master Assassin vs. The Mysterious Assassin**

"Woah there horsey" Ezio said as he orders his loyal steed to stop near a haystack before he jumps off of it. "Stay here. Be a good horse" he said fondly to his horse, brushing its mane. As it starts to feast on the haystack, Ezio starts his walk to the Roman ruins, his destination located outside the marketplace of Roma. Before he sets foot on the steps to the ancient ruin, he pulls out a folded piece of paper from outside his Assassin outfit. A letter he received from one of his scouting recruits just yesterday.

"Maestro Ezio" the letter started. "One of our scouts has found a strange symbol at one of the nearby Roman ruins at the outskirts of the city". Ending the letter is a rough sketch of what the symbol looks like. It was a strange symbol indeed, a symbol he has never seen before. He puts the letter back in his coat. He ascended the steps, passing through pillars that acted as a gateway, in a state of decay from the passing of the years. Finally, he found the symbol.

It was engraved on an old wall. Ezio taps into his Eagle Vision. "What is this ?" he said. The symbol glowed in his Eagle Vision, a dark aura emanating from the symbol itself. He steps closer to the wall, disembodied voices starting to whisper in his head as he gets closer. He touches the symbol, feeling every groove of the engraved symbol. Suddenly, everything around him begins to crack. _Everything. _The sky, the floor. The symbol starts to glow.

"Merde, I need to get out of here !" he shouted. But as he turns back, the floor beneath his feet begins to crack, immediately breaking itself soon after. "No !" he yelled, falling down the hole to darkness. "Nooooooooooo!"

….


	2. Chapter 2

"Ugghh..."

Slowly, Ezio opened his eyes. A bright ray of light reflects into his eyes as he begins to see the world around him. Not a world, but a _void_. A white, vast and seemingly endless void. "Where am I ?" Ezio said to himself, taking the time to look at the void around the void. There seems to be fragments of what looks like broken glass that is floating around the void. He sees visions of his life on one of these "fragments", from the death of his family, to the Borgia's attack on Monteriggioni, and finally the death of Cesare by Ezio's own hands. "What is this ? " he shouted, hoping that someone will answer his questions.

"Your life". A voice called out from behind him. He glances behind him to see a man, in his 30's, with perfectly trimmed hair and dressed in an outfit that is not peculiar to Ezio. A brown leather coat and blue jeans. "Who are you ?" Ezio called out. "You ask too many questions " the man answered back. Ezio begins one strange feature that the man has. His eyes are black. No pupils nor iris. Only a black void where his eyes should be, with a little bit of light glinting off of it.

"I'm asking you once messere, who are you ?!" Ezio shouted, impatient.

"Well then. I have no name. But they call me the Outsider"

"Now tell me, where am I ?"

The man, now known by Ezio as the Outsider, crosses his arms. "This is the Void. My domain. A world

that I can create to my will" the Outsider stated. "Some might not believe in the Void, but in fact, in every world, including yours, there is always a Void like this in each world. I watch over that world, becoming a spectator to every event that happens in that very world". Like magic, one of the "fragments" shatters, materializing the vision within it. "These are the 'Fragments of Life'. Every human being has a 'fragment' of their own lives. This is yours".

The vision materializes itself. A vision that Ezio is peculiar. A hurtful one. What materialized soon after is the scene of a crowd near a gallow, three people about to be hanged with the noose around their necks. "No, this is..." The crowd of pedestrians are yelling curse words at them, mocking them. A guard pulls the lever, the platform below the three people earlier dropping itself. "No !" Ezio yelled out. But it was already too late. They drop into the gallows below, Ezio hearing their sounds of agony as they choke on the noose around the necks. Finally, the sounds die down. Ezio's family, dead.

"This is the starting point" the Outsider said. "After that, you became an Assassin and swore to avenge the death of your family". Then, another vision materializes, becoming a vision of Ezio stabbing Vieri Pazzi in the throat. "Then you found their killer and acted your revenge. After that, you thought it was all over" he continued. Another vision, showing Ezio with the Apple of Eden in his hand, a reward for defeating Rodrigo Borgia. "But then, an act of mercy towards your enemy costed the life of your dearest uncle".

A vision materialized, showing a vision of Cesare firing a bullet at Mario Auditore's head, the bullet a few inches away from the back of his head. "With that, you swore vengeance on Cesare and the Borgia. You crippled everything they had. Everything that Cesare needed for his conquest". A vision materialized again, showing Cesare at the mercy of Ezio's hidden blade, lying on the floor with the blade close to his neck.

"By the time of his death, he was blinded by his own goal, to conquer every country in his path, including Rome. His boasting made you showed what for". Ezio still remembers Cesare's last words to him: "No man can kill me !" Whereupon he replied: "Then I leave you into the hands of Fate then !" Another vision materialized, showing Ezio throwing Cesare off the balcony of the castle walls, right to his death. Ezio slowly grins. "Your achievements have impressed me so far, and I wish to bestow upon you my gift" the Outsider said. He shows the back of his left hand, the symbol from earlier.

"This is my mark" he said. "By bestowing upon you my gift, my mark will serve as a reminder that you will serve under me, and that I will protect _you". _Suddenly, Ezio feels a burning sensation at the back of his left hand. Panicked, he quickly rolled up his left sleeve and was surprised to see the Outsider's mark, slowly burning on the back of his hand, being engraved. "No..." Ezio muttered. "I am a servant to no one !" The mark stops burning, not fully burned to his hand. "What ?" the Outsider said, surprised at his refusal. "I don't need spiritual help in carrying out my tasks ! Why don't you go find someone else to bother with ?!" Ezio shouted.

"But don't you want that power in your hands. A power that can easily crush your foes with little effort ?" the Outsider said. "The Apple of Eden and my skills are enough to crush anyone that stands against my way. I don't need help from a spiritual being. I have friends who I can trust. Friends that help me in return. And with that, we are done here !" Ezio explained. "Now take me back to where I belong !"

"How sad" the Outsider said, his expression showing complete disgust over Ezio's decision.

"I'm afraid you can't leave, not unless you bow down to me first !" the Outsider said, getting angry. "Never !" Ezio shouted. "I will never bow down to a hideous being like you !"

"Then so be it !"

The Outsider disappears as a flock of crows surround him, as if they carried him away. The Void starts to turn dark, the fragments starting to disappear as well. Suddenly, literally in a blink of an eye, a figure appears in front of him. Ezio can't see the figure's looks as the Void starts to get darker, shadowing the figure's appearance. He walks towards him, and finally he can see what the figure looks like. Looking at his body type, he is a man with average body features, not too skinny nor too muscular. Just in-between.

"Salve" Ezio shouted. No response. "Hello !" he shouted again. Still no answer. He looks at his clothes.

A dark blue coat with a the man himself donning a hood. His clothes seemed regal, judging by the red, white and gold lines on the middle of his coat. But one defining feature that the man has is his mask. Steel, shaped like a human skull, with half of the maw open and revealing fibres that stretches from the upper maw to the lower half of the maw. One of the 'eyes' of the mask has a telescopic device built into it, looking like a spyglass.

Ezio felt shivers down his spine as he sees the mask. The mask looked terrifying, emotionless, hiding the man's face with pure obscurity behind it. Even worse, he just gave a cold stare at Ezio, a soul piercing gaze. Suddenly, the man darted forward to Ezio and grabs his face with his left hand. That is when he noticed something wrong with the man.

He has the mark of the Outsider.


End file.
